U.S. patent application number 12/542354 was filed with the patent office on 2011-02-17 for sensing capacitance changes of a housing of an electronic device.
This patent application is currently assigned to Apple Inc.. Invention is credited to Brett Bilbrey, Duncan Kerr, Nicholas Vincent King, Aleksandar Pance.
Application Number | 20110037624 12/542354 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43588276 |
Filed Date | 2011-02-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110037624 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pance; Aleksandar ; et
al. |
February 17, 2011 |
SENSING CAPACITANCE CHANGES OF A HOUSING OF AN ELECTRONIC
DEVICE
Abstract
Methods and apparatuses are disclosed that allow measurement of
a user's interaction with the housing of an electronic device. Some
embodiments may measure the electrical characteristics of a housing
of an electrical device, where the housing is capable of being
temporarily deformed by the user's interaction. By measuring the
electrical characteristics of the housing, such as the housing's
capacitance, the user's interaction with the housing can be
measured in a manner that is independent of the user's electrical
characteristics and/or in a manner that may allow the pressure
applied to the housing to be quantified.
Inventors: |
Pance; Aleksandar;
(Saratoga, CA) ; King; Nicholas Vincent; (San
Jose, CA) ; Kerr; Duncan; (San Francisco, CA)
; Bilbrey; Brett; (Sunnyvale, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
DORSEY & WHITNEY LLP;on behalf of APPLE, INC.
370 SEVENTEENTH ST., SUITE 4700
DENVER
CO
80202-5647
US
|
Assignee: |
Apple Inc.
Cupertino
CA
|
Family ID: |
43588276 |
Appl. No.: |
12/542354 |
Filed: |
August 17, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
341/33 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 1/1626 20130101;
G06F 1/1694 20130101; G06F 1/1601 20130101; G06F 1/1616 20130101;
G06F 3/0202 20130101; H03K 2217/94052 20130101; H03K 17/9622
20130101; G06F 1/181 20130101; G06F 3/044 20130101; H03K
2217/960785 20130101; G06F 2200/1636 20130101; H03K 2217/960755
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
341/33 |
International
Class: |
H03K 17/94 20060101
H03K017/94 |
Claims
1. An input-output device, comprising: a metal surface; and one or
more sensors disposed adjacent the metal surface, wherein the one
or more sensors is configured to detect a deflection of the metal
surface and indicate an input to the input-output device.
2. The input-output device of claim 1, wherein the one or more
sensors is a capacitor.
3. The input-output device of claim 1, wherein a thickness of the
metal surface is uniform.
4. The input-output device of claim 3, wherein the metal surface is
an enclosure of an electronic device.
5. The input-output device of claim 1, wherein a thickness of the
metal surface is chosen such that areas of the metal surface
proximal to the one or more sensors deflect differently than areas
of the metal surface distal to the one or more sensors.
6. An electronic device comprising: a housing comprising a first
region having a first thickness and a second region having a second
thickness; a mounting surface coupled to the housing, the mounting
surface comprising a terminal that is located on the mounting
surface so that the terminal is substantially aligned with the
second region of the housing; and a processing unit coupled to the
mounting surface; wherein the processing unit measures an
electrical characteristic of the terminal with respect to the
housing.
7. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the second thickness
is thinner than the first thickness.
8. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the housing and the
mounting surface are coupled together such that a cavity exists
between the terminal and the housing.
9. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein a capacitor is formed
by the combination of the terminal, the housing, and the
cavity.
10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the cavity is filled
with a dielectric material.
11. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the dielectric
material is foam.
12. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the measured
electrical characteristic is capacitance.
13. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the measured
electrical characteristic changes as the second region is stressed
with respect to the first region.
14. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the processing unit
quantifies the stress on the second region.
15. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the electronic
device is a phone and an exterior of the housing is capable of
being squeezed to control a volume of noise emanating from the
phone.
16. An electronic device comprising: a housing comprising an
exterior that is substantially flat and an interior comprising
first and second areas with differing thicknesses; a mounting
surface coupled to the housing, the mounting surface comprising an
illumination source aligned with the second area; and a processing
unit coupled to the mounting surface; wherein the processing unit
illuminates the illumination source as the exterior of the housing
is stressed.
17. The electronic device of claim 16, wherein the housing is an
input mechanism for the electronic device and the processing unit
measures a capacitance of the second area with respect to the
exterior of the housing.
18. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the housing is
metal.
19. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the input mechanism
is a keyboard and the second area corresponds to a key of the
keyboard.
20. The electronic device of claim 17, further comprising a
proximity detector, wherein the capacitance is capable of changing
without physical contact to the housing when the proximity detector
detects the presence of a user.
21. An electronic device comprising: a housing comprising an input
mechanism integrated into the housing; and a processing unit
coupled to the housing, wherein the input mechanism is activated by
stressing a portion of an exterior of the housing.
22. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein the input mechanism
is integrated into a surface of the exterior the housing.
23. The electronic device of claim 21, further comprising an
illumination source on the interior of the housing, wherein the act
of stressing the portion of the exterior of the housing causes the
illumination source to indicate the location of the input mechanism
on the exterior of the housing.
24. The electronic device of claim 21, further comprising a
proximity detector, wherein the act of stressing the portion of the
exterior of the housing occurs without physical contact from a user
when the proximity detector detects the presence of a user.
25. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein the housing forms a
terminal of a capacitor used to measure force imparted by a user
onto the housing.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is related to, and incorporates by
reference, the application titled "Housing as I/O" and identified
as attorney docket no. P7677US1 (191230US) and the application
titled "Electronic Device Housing as an Acoustic Input Device" and
identified as attorney docket no. P7680US1 (191229US), both of
which were filed on the same date as this application.
BACKGROUND
[0002] I. Technical Field
[0003] The present invention relates generally to utilizing a
housing of an electronic device as an input device, and more
particularly to methods and apparatuses that provide measurement of
a user's interaction with the housing of the electronic device.
[0004] II. Background Discussion
[0005] Electronic devices are ubiquitous in society and can be
found in everything from wristwatches to computers. Depending upon
the particular implementation of the electronic device, each device
may have a different mechanism for interfacing with a user. Some
electronic devices, such as laptop computers and mobile telephones,
have dedicated portions of the device that include a standard
keyboard where the user enters data by pressing one or more
separate physical keys on the keyboard. However, as electronic
devices and consumers become more sophisticated, many consumers
prefer electronic devices with more aesthetically pleasing
interface mechanisms. These aesthetically pleasing interfaces
include touch pads and/or touch screens that do not have keys,
buttons or other input mechanisms that physically protrude from the
keyboard. Due to the lack of a conventional keyboard or other input
mechanism, the user generally depresses certain designated areas of
the touch pads and/or touch screens to interface with the
electronic device. For example, many mobile telephones have touch
screen interfaces, so that the user can contact with an area on the
screen with a finger to enter a desired telephone number.
[0006] Conventional electronic devices often implement these touch
pads and/or touch screens by relying upon capacitive coupling
between the designed area of the device and a user. For example, in
some conventional electronic devices, the capacitance or inductance
of the user's hand or finger is measured to determine whether the
user has made contact with the touch pad and/or touch screen.
Unfortunately, there are many cases where the electrical
characteristics of the user may provide an inaccurate
representation of user's contact with the electrical device. For
example, if the user is already touching or resting his hand on the
touch pad and/or touch screen, then conventional electronic devices
may already have measured this capacitance or inductance and be
incapable of noticing the additional touch from the user. Also, the
accuracy of measuring the electrical characteristics of the user
may be compromised if the user's hand is not free of contaminants,
(e.g., if the user has dirt or grease on his hands or his hand is
sweaty). Furthermore, because conventional electronic devices
register a user touching the touch pad and/or touch screen by
detecting for the user's capacitance or inductance, conventional
electronic devices are often incapable of determining the amount of
pressure applied to the electronic device because the user's
capacitance or inductance is generally unrelated to the pressure
applied. Accordingly, methods and apparatuses that provide
measurement of a user's interaction with the housing of an
electronic device may be useful.
SUMMARY
[0007] Embodiments are disclosed that allow measurement of a user's
interaction with the housing of an electronic device. Some
embodiments may measure a change in the electrical characteristics
of a housing of an electrical device when the housing is
temporarily stressed, and thus at least slightly deformed, by the
user's interaction with the housing. By measuring the electrical
characteristics of the housing, such as the housing's capacitance,
both before and during user interaction, the user's interaction can
be sensed in a manner that is independent of the user's electrical
characteristics and/or in a manner that may allow a pressure
applied to the housing by the user to be quantified.
[0008] Some embodiments may include an input-output device that
includes a metal surface and one or more sensors disposed adjacent
the metal surface. The one or more sensors may be configured to
detect a deflection of the metal surface and indicate an input to
the input-output device.
[0009] Some embodiments may take the form of an electronic device
having a housing with a first region having a first thickness and a
second region having a second thickness. The electronic device may
further include a printed circuit board (PCB) coupled to the
housing. Generally, the PCB may include a terminal located thereon
and substantially aligned with the second region of the housing.
The housing may further include a processing unit coupled to the
PCB and operative to measure an electrical characteristic of the
terminal with respect to the housing (or a change thereof).
[0010] Other embodiments may take the form of an electronic device
having a housing with a substantially flat exterior and an interior
having first and second areas with differing thicknesses. A PCB may
be coupled to the housing and further to an illumination source
aligned with the second area. The electronic device may further
include a processing unit coupled to the PCB, where the processing
unit may illuminate the illumination source when a minimum external
stress is applied to the exterior of the housing.
[0011] Still other embodiments may take the form of a housing for
an electronic device having a user input mechanism integrated into
the housing. The electronic device may include a processing unit
coupled to the housing and operative to sense or react to a stress
applied to at least a specific area of an exterior of the
housing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1A illustrates an electronic device capable of
detecting touch sensing through the housing.
[0013] FIG. 1B illustrates the housing shown in FIG. 1A being
deflected.
[0014] FIG. 2 illustrates various electronic devices that may
employ the disclosed housing input mechanisms.
[0015] FIG. 3 illustrates a notebook that may employ the disclosed
housing input mechanisms.
[0016] FIG. 4A illustrates a top down view of a cross section of
the notebook from FIG. 3 taken along the line AA' shown in FIG.
3.
[0017] FIG. 4B illustrates a top down view of the notebook computer
that may be located on top of the cross sectional view shown in
FIG. 4A.
[0018] FIG. 5A illustrates a cross section of a housing input
mechanism taken along the line BB' shown in FIG. 4B.
[0019] FIG. 5B illustrates an alternate embodiment of the housing
input mechanism shown in FIG. 5A.
[0020] FIG. 6 illustrates a cross section of another housing input
mechanism.
[0021] FIG. 7 illustrates a cross section of yet another housing
input mechanism.
[0022] FIG. 8A illustrates a top down view of an arrangement of one
or more sensors.
[0023] FIG. 8B illustrates a top down view of another arrangement
of one or more sensors.
[0024] FIG. 8C illustrates a top down view of another arrangement
of one or more sensors.
[0025] FIG. 8D illustrates a top down view of yet another
arrangement of one or more sensors.
[0026] FIG. 9 illustrates a cross section of a housing input
mechanism where a user may wave his hand to interface with the
electronic device.
[0027] FIG. 10 illustrates a cross section of housing input
mechanism where the user may use a stylus to interface with the
electronic device.
[0028] FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary method used to detect user
interaction through one or more housing input mechanisms.
[0029] The use of the same reference numerals in different drawings
indicates similar or identical items.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0030] Generally, electronic devices are implemented in a "housing"
that structurally encloses the electronic device and protects it
from being damaged. Embodiments of electronic devices are disclosed
that allow a user to interact with an electronic device through
their housings. More specifically, in some embodiments, the
electronic devices may include one or more input-output (I/O)
devices that are integrated into the surface of the housing rather
than within the housing. That is, the housing may be part of the
I/O system as well as the structural enclosure for the electronic
device.
[0031] With regard to inputting data via the housing, the housing
may include one or more sensors that are capable of detecting a
variety of user actions as input to the electronic device. In other
words, the housing itself may be used as an input device such that
user actions like approaching, touching, tapping, holding, and/or
squeezing the electronic device, may be used as input data by the
electronic device. In some embodiments, the sensors in the housing
also may be combined with one or more additional sensing devices to
enhance the housing's ability to sense user actions. For example,
the sensors in the housing may be used in conjunction with an
accelerometer.
[0032] While conventional housings for electronic devices may be
manufactured using different types of plastics, an increasing
number of housings are being implemented where the housing is
manufactured, in whole or in part, using metal. Conventional
approaches have had difficulty sensing user interaction through
metal, especially when the sensors are implemented using capacitive
sensing technologies. In some embodiments, the difficulties
associated with capacitive sensing may be overcome by forming the
capacitive sensor using the housing as a first terminal of the
capacitor, using another terminal located within the housing as a
second terminal of the capacitor, and separating the first and
second terminals to create a cavity or gap to be filled with
dielectrics. As is described in greater detail below, these
dielectrics may vary between different embodiments. For example in
some embodiments, the dielectric may be air while in other
embodiments the dielectric may be implemented as a material that
offers additional structural support to the housing, such as a
sponge.
[0033] Although one or more of the embodiments disclosed herein may
be described in detail with reference to a particular electronic
device, the embodiments disclosed should not be interpreted or
otherwise used as limiting the scope of the disclosure, including
the claims. In addition, one skilled in the art will understand
that the following description has broad application. Accordingly,
the discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be exemplary and
is not intended to suggest that the scope of the disclosure,
including the claims, is limited to these embodiments.
[0034] Turning now to FIG. 1A, a housing 10 is shown that is
capable of enclosing an electronic device. Although only a portion
of the housing 10 is shown in FIG. 1A, the housing 10 may be part
of a larger enclosure of an electronic device. For example, the
housing 10 may be part of one or more surfaces of an enclosure for
an electronic device, such as one or more walls. In some
embodiments, the housing 10 may be manufactured solely using
metallic materials such as anodized aluminum, steel, titanium or
other metals, while in other embodiments, the housing 10 may be
formed using combinations of metallic and non-metallic materials,
or combinations of different metallic materials.
[0035] As shown in FIG. 1A, the housing 10 may couple to one or
more terminals 12A and 12B that are located within the housing 10
at a predetermined distance from the housing 10 (shown as d.sub.1
in FIG. 1B). While different portions of the housing 10 may be
manufactured, to varying degree using both metallic and
non-metallic materials, the portions of the housing 10 that are
adjacent to the terminals 12A and 12B may be made of metal so as to
form a capacitor with the combination of the housing 10 and the
terminals 12A and 12B. That is, the housing 10 may form a first
terminal of the capacitor, the terminals 12A and 12B may form a
second terminal of the capacitor, and the gap between the terminals
12A and 12B may form the dielectric for the capacitor.
[0036] In some embodiments, such as the one shown in FIG. 1A, the
housing 10 may be electrically grounded and the terminals 12A and
12B may couple to a controller 15 that is also grounded. In other
embodiments, the polarity of the capacitor connections may be
reversed such that the housing 10 may be ungrounded and the
terminals 12A and 12B may be grounded. Regardless of the particular
electrical connections of the capacitor structure formed by the
combination of the housing 10 and the terminals 12A and 12B, as the
housing is stressed or deflected, the controller 15 may measure
this deflection as a change in the capacitance of the capacitor
formed by the combination of the housing 10 and each of the
terminals 12A and 12B. That is, the terminal 12A may form a first
capacitor structure with the housing 10 and the terminal 12B may
form a second capacitor that is electrically separate from the
first capacitor.
[0037] FIG. 1B illustrates a force F being imparted on the housing
10. This force F may be the result of a user's actions with respect
to the electronic device, such as by touching, tapping, holding,
and/or squeezing the electronic device. The controller 15 may
measure this force F by measuring the change in spacing between the
housing 10 and the various terminals 12A and 12B. In other words,
as the housing 10 is deflected, the initial distance d.sub.1
between each of the terminals 12A and 12B may decrease to d.sub.2A
and d.sub.2B respectively, thereby changing the capacitance of the
capacitor structure formed between each of the terminals 12A and
12B and the housing 10. The controller 15 also may determine the
location of a majority of the force F by determining which of the
terminals 12A and 12B experience the largest change in capacitance,
indicating the largest deflection in the housing 10.
[0038] FIG. 2 illustrates some of the various electronic devices
where the housing 10 may be implemented. These electronic devices
may include a desktop computer 21, a notebook computer 22, a tablet
computer 23, a personal digital assistant (PDA) 25, a media player
26, and/or a mobile telephone 27, to illustrate but a few. As
shown, the notebook computer 22 may have a metallic solid
continuous surface in place of a traditional keyboard.
[0039] FIG. 3 illustrates the notebook computer 22 shown in FIG. 2
where a keyboard 28 (shown in phantom) is formed in the metallic
solid surface. The keyboard 28 may be formed by orienting one or
more terminals (such as the terminals 12A and 12B shown and
described above in the context of FIG. 1), below each of the
desired key locations of the keyboard 28. For example, FIG. 4A
illustrates a top down view of a cross section of the keyboard 28
taken through the housing of the notebook computer 22 along the
line AA' shown in FIG. 3.
[0040] Referring now to FIG. 4A, a first terminal 250 may be
mounted on a printed circuit board 255 in a location that generally
corresponds with the keys of the keyboard 28 (shown in phantom in
FIG. 2). In some embodiments, the first terminal 250 may be
separated from other terminals, such as a second terminal 257, by a
dielectric grid 260 (which is shown in greater detail below with
regard to FIG. 5A). Accordingly, the first terminal 250 may couple
to one key of the keyboard 28 while the second terminal 257 may
couple to another key of the keyboard 28. In other embodiments,
more than one terminal may be coupled to the same key. For example,
the first terminal 250 may be coupled along with a third terminal
265 to the same key by being within the same portion of the
dielectric grid 260 as shown. Also, some sections of the keyboard
28 may include more terminals per unit area than others, resulting
in sections of the keyboard 28 with higher resolution than other
sections of the keyboard 28.
[0041] The printed circuit board 255 may include one or more light
emitting diodes (LEDs) 270 located adjacent to the terminals 250,
257, and/or 265. FIG. 4B illustrates a top down view of the
keyboard 28 that may be located on top of the view shown in FIG.
4A. As will be described in greater detail below, the keys of the
keyboard 28 may be integrated into the flat metallic surface of the
housing using micro-perforations to define the edges of the keys
and the letters associated with each key (both shown with dotted
lines in FIG. 4B). In this manner, as the LEDs 270 are illuminated
the locations of the keys and the letters they represent may become
apparent to the user. Alternatively, the thickness and/or opacity
of the housing 105 may be controlled by controlling the amount of
metal sputtered on the surface of the housing 105.
[0042] FIG. 5A illustrates a cross section of a housing input
mechanism 100 taken through two keys of the notebook computer 22
along the line BB' shown in FIG. 4B, however, it should be
appreciated that the cross section shown in FIG. 5A may represent
the user inputs of any of the electronic devices shown in FIG. 2,
such as two of the buttons on the mobile telephone 27.
Additionally, the electronic devices that implement the housing
input mechanism 100 may be combinations of these devices. For
example, one embodiment may be a device that is a combination of a
PDA, a media player and a mobile telephone. In fact, the housing
input mechanism 100 may be integrated into any portion of the
housing of a wide variety of consumer electronic devices, such as
refrigerators, audio equipment, display devices, automobiles and
other devices not specifically mentioned herein. Also, although the
housing 105 is shown as a cross section, it should be appreciated
that the housing 105 may be part of a larger enclosure of the
electronic device, where the enclosure not only provides structural
support and protection to the electronic device, but the housing
105 also forms part of a capacitive sensing device.
[0043] Depending upon the particular electronic device, the manner
in which the housing input mechanism 100 is incorporated into the
housing may vary. For example, in a notebook computer 22 the
housing input mechanism may exist in place of a keyboard 28. In
other embodiments, such as the PDA 25, the personal media player
26, and/or the mobile telephone 27, the housing input mechanism 100
may be incorporated into the portions of the devices 25-27 that
typically make contact with a user's hand, such as portions 29, 30,
31, 32, and 33 respectively. As will be described in greater detail
below, by incorporating the housing input mechanism 100 into the
electronic devices in this manner, a user may be able to interact
with the electronic device by exerting physical pressure on the
housing of the device. For example, if the mobile telephone 27 is
in the user's pocket and begins to ring, a user may simply squeeze
or tap the mobile telephone (even through his pocket) to silence
it. Alternatively, a user may be able to interact with the housing
input mechanism 100 without actually making physical contact with
the electronic device. For example, as will be described in greater
detail below in the context of FIG. 9, if the housing input
mechanism 100 is used in place of the traditional keyboard 28 of
the notebook computer 22, then pressure waves that may arise from a
user waving his hand over the keyboard 28 may provide the user
interaction, e.g., waking up the notebook computer 22 from a sleep
state.
[0044] Referring back to FIG. 5A, the housing input mechanism 100
may be part of a housing 105 used in any of the electronic devices
shown in FIG. 2. In some embodiments, the housing 105 may be
manufactured from a metal such as anodized aluminum, steel,
titanium or other metals. In other embodiments, the housing 105 may
be manufactured from a plastic, ceramic or other suitable material.
Regardless of the material used for manufacturing the housing 105,
in some embodiments, the housing is of sufficient ductility or
flexibility to allow a user 107 to temporarily stress or bend the
housing 105 locally at an area of contact without permanently
distorting the housing 105. For example, in the embodiments where
the housing 105 is manufactured using anodized aluminum, its
thickness over the area of contact, labeled as d.sub.1 in FIG. 5A,
may be approximately 0.4 millimeters to allow this temporary
bending. As will be described in detail below, since different
processing circuitry may have varying sensitivity thresholds that
should be exceeded to permit determining a change in capacitance or
another electrical or physical feature of the housing, the amount
of pressure necessary on the exterior of the housing 105 to
effectuate user input may vary.
[0045] The housing 105 may couple to a printed circuit board (PCB)
110 through one or more insulator regions 115. In some embodiments,
the PCB 110 may be manufactured using a thin lightweight plastic
layer that is coated with indium-tin-oxide (ITO) and therefore the
insulator regions 115 may simply be areas where there is no
deposition of ITO on the plastic. In other embodiments, the
insulator regions 115 may be removed altogether and the housing 105
may be situated down in the recesses between the terminals 125A and
125B without making contact with the PCB 110. In still other
embodiments, the insulator regions 115 may be alternately removed
so that every other terminal has an insulator between it and the
next terminal.
[0046] In other embodiments, the PCB 110 may be manufactured using
flexible printed circuit boards, such as a polyimide base with
copper conductors, where there are no copper conductors present in
the insulator regions 115. In still other embodiments, the PCB 110
may be manufactured using conductive material and the insulator
regions 115 are deposited thereon.
[0047] As shown, the housing 105 may include one or more cavities
120A-B that are situated between the insulator regions 115. In this
manner, when the housing 105, the insulator regions 115, and the
PCB 110 are assembled together, one or more voids 122A-B are
created between the housing 105 and the PCB 110. One or more
terminals 125A-B may be placed on the PCB 110 in a position that
aligns with the cavities 120A-B. In the embodiments where the PCB
110 is manufactured with an insulating material, the one or more
terminals 125A-B may be formed by depositing conductive material on
the PCB 110 inside the cavities 120A-B when the housing 105, the
insulator regions 115, and the PCB 110 are assembled together.
[0048] In the embodiments where the PCB is implemented using ITO,
the terminals 125A-B may be mounted on the bottom of the PCB 110 in
order to allow electrical connections (shown in FIG. 5A as a dashed
line) to be routed across the PCB 110 without electrically shorting
the connections.
[0049] The assembled combination of the housing 105, the voids
122A-B, and the terminals 125A-B may form one or more capacitor
structures used to detect user interaction. In other words, the top
of the cavity 120A may form one terminal of a first capacitor, the
terminal 125A may form the other terminal of the first capacitor,
and the void 122A may form the dielectric material of the first
capacitor. If the two terminals of the capacitor (e.g., the top of
the cavity 120A and the terminal 125A) have a separation distance
of d.sub.2 as illustrated in FIG. 5A, then the capacitance of the
first capacitor could be calculated per Equation (1), where A is
the surface area in common between the terminal 125A and the top of
the cavity 120A, d.sub.2 is their separation distance, and
.epsilon. is the dielectric constant of the void 122A.
C = A d 2 Eq . ( 1 ) ##EQU00001##
[0050] In some embodiments, the voids 122A-B may be filled with
air, and therefore, the value of .epsilon. may be one. In other
embodiments, the voids 122A-B may be filled with a foam material.
As one example, this foam material may have a dielectric constant
between one and two. In still other embodiments, the voids 122A-B
may be filled with materials that offer additional structural
support to the top of the cavity 120A. For example, the voids
122A-B may be filled with a sponge material that offers additional
structural support to the top of the cavity 120A and that aids the
top of the cavity 120A in returning to its normal state after being
depressed. In still other embodiments, the thickness of the
insulator regions 115 may be used to control the separation
distance d.sub.2.
[0051] As can be appreciated from inspection of Equation (1) in
conjunction with FIG. 5A, as the housing 105 deforms (e.g., by a
user depressing the housing 105), the separation distance d.sub.2
decreases and the capacitance of the first capacitor increases.
This change in capacitance may be detected by a microprocessor 130
coupled to the first capacitor and translates the change in
capacitance into user interaction (detail of the microprocessor 130
operation is given in greater detail below).
[0052] Similarly, a second capacitor may be formed by the
combination of the top of the cavity 120B, the terminal 125B, and
the void 122B. In such an embodiment, the capacitance of the second
capacitor could be calculated by Equation (1) where the area A,
separation distance d.sub.2, and dielectric constant for the second
capacitor may be the same as the first capacitor in some
embodiments or different than the first capacitor in other
embodiments.
[0053] FIG. 5A illustrates operation of the housing input mechanism
100 as the housing 105 is depressed by the user 107. (It should be
noted that the deformation of the housing 105 may be exaggerated in
FIG. 5A for ease of viewing.) The force imparted by the user's 107
finger temporarily bends the top of the cavity 120B with respect to
the terminal 125B, pressing the top of the cavity closer to the
terminal. Since the top of the cavity 120B represents the top
electrode of the second capacitor, the distance d.sub.2 may change
as the user 107 depresses the housing 105. As the distance d.sub.2
changes, the capacitance given by Equation (1) changes, thereby
indicating that the housing has been depressed by the user 107.
[0054] In some embodiments, the distance d.sub.2 may be smaller
than the overall thickness of the housing 105. For example, in the
embodiments where the housing 105 is manufactured using anodized
aluminum that is approximately 0.4 millimeters thick, then the
distance d.sub.2 may be approximately 0.2 millimeters. In these
embodiments, if the housing 105, which has a thickness of 0.4
millimeters, were to flex by 25%, or 0.1 millimeters, this would
result in a change of approximately 50% of d.sub.2 and the
capacitance value, per Equation (1), would increase by 50%. As will
be described in greater detail below, the microprocessor 130 may
detect this change in capacitance and process it accordingly.
[0055] While FIG. 5A illustrates one embodiment of the housing
input mechanism 100, it should be appreciated that numerous
alternate embodiments are possible. For example, FIG. 6 illustrates
an alternate housing input mechanism 300 (with the user 107 omitted
for the sake of clarity), where the tops of the cavities 120A and
120B are concave. FIG. 6 also illustrates that the housing input
mechanism 300 may include one or more illumination devices 301A-B,
which in some embodiments, may be located beneath the terminals
125A-B. The housing input mechanism 300 may be configured such that
the PCB 305 is coated with a layer of ITO that allows it to be
transparent to light. In this manner, light from the illumination
devices 301A-B may shine through the housing 105 at a location
above the terminals 125A-B as shown in FIG. 6. Note that although
the alternate housing input mechanism 300 is shown with the
illumination devices 301A-B and alternate shaped cavities 120A and
120B, these embodiments may be implemented independent of one
another.
[0056] In some embodiments, each of the illumination devices 301A-B
may be one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) of differing
colors. For example, in some embodiments, a single LED capable of
emitting red, green, and blue (RGB) light separately or
simultaneously may be positioned underneath each of the terminals
125A-B. In other embodiments, the single LED may be based on other
light combinations such as cyan, yellow, and magenta (CYM), or
amber-green, to name but a few. Alternatively, three separate LEDs
may be used to provide a mixture of primary colors for emitted
light. By mixing these three primary colors, either via a
multicolor LED or separate LEDs, a wide variety of resulting colors
may be generated individually for each of the terminals 125A-B. In
other embodiments, the illumination devices 301A-B may be organic
LEDs (OLEDs), and may generate a wide variety of display patterns
and colors on each of the surfaces of the housing 105 at a location
above the terminals 125A-B.
[0057] Because the housing input mechanisms 100 and 300 may be
located anywhere on the housing 105 of an electronic device, the
ability for the housing input mechanism 300 to illuminate the
locations of the terminals 125A-B may be useful. For example, if
the housing input mechanism 300 were implemented as the keyboard 28
of the notebook computer 22 (shown in FIG. 2), then the keyboard 28
may appear as a continuous sheet of metal with no indication as to
the location of the keys. By illuminating the locations of the
terminals 125A-B, however, the key locations may be made know to
the user 107.
[0058] FIG. 7 illustrates yet another alternative housing input
mechanism 400 that may offer enhanced structural stability and
reduce the cross contamination between the terminals 125A-B when
compared to the housing input mechanism 100 shown in FIG. 5A. As
can be appreciated from comparison of FIGS. 5A and 7, the PCB 110
may be thicker in the contact area so that the thickness of the
housing 105 over the area of contact (labeled as d.sub.1) may
remain the same, yet the overall thickness of the housing 105
(labeled as d.sub.3 in FIG. 7) may be substantially larger. As one
example, the housing thickness may be one to two millimeters. Since
the separation distance d.sub.2 and the contact area A may be
substantially the same between FIGS. 1 and 7, then the measured
capacitance may remain substantially the same despite the overall
thickness of the housing 105 increasing, thereby adding structural
stability. Furthermore, when compared to the embodiment shown in
FIG. 5A, this embodiment may reduce the amount of pressure that is
intended for the terminal 125A but is transferred to the terminal
125B because the housing 105 may be flexing globally and affecting
terminals other than terminal 125A.
[0059] FIGS. 8A-D illustrate top down views of various possible
arrangements for the terminals 125A-B located in the housing 105.
FIG. 8A includes an array of terminals 500A-E, where each of the
terminals 500A-E may be one or more of the terminals 125A-B shown
in FIG. 5A and coupled to the microprocessor 130. For example, a
line CC' is shown in FIG. 8A to indicate the potential relationship
where the terminals 500A-B (top down shown in FIG. 8A) match the
terminals 125A-B (cross section shown in FIG. 5A). Similarly, each
of FIGS. 8B-D include the line CC' to indicate the possible
relationship between the terminals in FIG. 5A and their top down
views shown in FIGS. 8B-D. Depending upon the embodiment, the
microprocessor 130 may take on a variety of forms. In some
embodiments, the microprocessor 130 may be part of, or may be, a
general purpose microprocessor located within a computer. In other
embodiments, the microprocessor 130 may be a discrete integrated
circuit dedicated to monitoring the capacitance changes as the
housing 105 is depressed, such as the AD7147 manufactured by Analog
Devices, Inc of Norwood, Mass.
[0060] As was alluded to above, the microprocessor 130 may be
programmed to vary its sensitivity in response to input from the
capacitors and/or vary the patterns that are necessary from a user
in order for the electronic device to recognize them as user input.
For example, in some embodiments, the microprocessor 130 may be
configured such that a light tap on the surface of the electronic
device may be received as user input. However, in other
embodiments, the microprocessor 130 may be configured with a much
higher threshold so that the user would have to press much more
firmly on the surface of the housing 105 in order for the
electronic device to recognize this stress as the same input from
the user. In still other embodiments (disclosed more fully below),
the microprocessor 130 may be configured to ignore user input
unless certain conditions are met, such as the user being located
around the electronic device.
[0061] Referring still to FIG. 8A, during operation, as the user
107 moves his hand across the surface of the housing 105, the
housing 105 may be stressed or deflected over top of the terminals
500A-E in succession, and the microprocessor 130 may detect this as
movement in a particular direction. That is, if the user's 107 hand
first stresses the housing 105 above the terminal 500A, and then
stresses the housing 105 above the terminal 500B, and so on in
succession along the housing above the terminals 500C-E, then the
microprocessor 130 may determine that the user 107 is moving his
hand to the right in FIG. 8A. Similarly, if the user's 107 hand
begins stressing the housing above the terminal 500E and continues
in succession from the terminal 500D and ultimately to the terminal
500A, then the microprocessor may determine that the user's 107
hand is moving to the left in FIG. 8A. Depending upon the
embodiment, the terminals 500A-E may be used to control variable
settings of the electronic device. For example, if the electronic
device is a personal media player 26, then the terminals 500A-E may
be a volume "slider" used to raise or lower the volume levels of
the media player 26.
[0062] FIG. 8B shows an alternative arrangement with an array of
terminals 505A-E in a differing geometric configuration. As shown,
the terminals 505A-E may each have a zigzag shape. This may
increase the amount of spatial resolution of the capacitance
measurements--i.e., a larger signal response between adjacent
terminals.
[0063] FIG. 8C shows yet another alternative embodiment with the
terminals 510A-G in a spiral arrangement. While FIG. 8C illustrates
seven terminals 510A-G in a spiral arrangement, any number of
terminals may be implemented in the spiral arrangement. In this
embodiment, as the user 107 moves his hand across the housing 105
in various directions, the housing 105 above each of the terminals
510A-G may be depressed in a certain successive pattern, and the
microprocessor 130 may process the detected patterns to determine a
direction of the overall user's 107 movement across the housing
105. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 8C, as the user
107 moves his hand in a diagonal direction from the bottom left of
the housing 105 to the top right of the housing 105, then the
terminals 510D, 510A, 510B, and 510F may be sensed by the
microprocessor 130 in a sequential manner. Similarly, in the
embodiment shown in FIG. 8C, as the user 107 moves his hand in a
diagonal direction from the bottom right of the housing 105 to the
top left of the housing 105, then depression of the terminals 510G,
510C, 510A, and 510E may be sensed by the microprocessor 130 in a
sequential manner.
[0064] FIG. 8D illustrates a top down view of an N.times.N array of
capacitive terminals disposed beneath the housing 105. Arrays of
terminals may be used in place of keyboard interfaces in a variety
of electronic devices, such as the keyboard 28 of the notebook
computer 22 (shown in FIG. 2). In this manner, each of the sensors
in the array may be oriented at a distance from each other that
generally mimics the layout of a keyboard, thereby allowing the
user 107 to type on the housing 105 above the sensors. The
embodiment may detect this typing activity in the manner discussed
above, namely by sensing a change in the distance between the
housing 105 and any sensor underlying the typing, or by sensing a
change in the capacitance coupling the housing 105 to an underlying
sensor. Some embodiments may disguise the locations of the sensors
of the array in the housing 105. In such an embodiment, the
electronic device may include one or more illumination devices
301A-B that illuminate when the user makes contact with the housing
105 or positions his fingers or other body part nearby. Each
illumination device may correspond, for example, to a separate
sensor which may detect impact on or deformation of the housing 105
above it. Thus, given a sufficient number of sensors laid out like
the keys of a keyboard, the device housing may be used to input or
mimic keystrokes on a keyboard and the N.times.N array may be used
as a keyboard through the housing 105. Furthermore, the housing 105
may include micro-perforations above each of the terminals in the
N.times.N array. Micro-perforations are miniature holes in the
housing 105 that are visually imperceptible to the user 107 because
of their size yet large enough that, when light is placed behind
them, light is visible through the micro-perforations. For example,
these micro-perforations may permit light from the illumination
devices 301A-B to pass through them to indicate the location of the
terminals in the N.times.N array. In this manner, these
micro-perforations may be formed into various shapes, such as
letters, numbers, symbols or other features found on the keys of a
keyboard so that a keyboard may be formed by the housing 105 by
illuminating the illumination devices under each of the terminals
in the N.times.N array. Also, in some embodiments, these
micro-perforations may be filled with epoxy.
[0065] Other embodiments may compensate for different users
operating user interface. For example, in the event that the user
interface shown in FIG. 5A is used in place of the traditional
keyboard 28, then the electronic device may recognize different
users (such as by different login credentials), and customize the
stress thresholds of the keyboard 28 accordingly. In this manner,
if a first user generally touches the housing more lightly than a
second user, then the keyboard 28 may be programmed to have lower
stress thresholds when the first user is logged into the electronic
device and higher stress thresholds when the second user is logged
into the device.
[0066] The geometric configurations and the potential user 107
input schemes disclosed herein are merely illustrative, and in
fact, numerous geometric configurations are possible. Furthermore,
while the embodiments disclosed herein may illustrate the user 107
making physical contact with the housing 105 in order to stress or
deflect the housing 105 so as to cause a capacitive change
measurable by the microprocessor 130, such physical contact may not
be necessary in certain embodiments. For example, FIG. 9
illustrates a cross section of a housing input mechanism 600 akin
to that shown in FIGS. 1, 6, and 7, except instead of the user 107
making physical contact to stress the housing 105, the user 107 may
wave his hand above the housing 105 and air pressure waves from the
motion of the hand may cause stress of the housing 105 sufficient
enough to cause the microprocessor 130 to register a capacitance
change. In these embodiments, in order to selectively increase the
sensitivity of the housing input mechanism, the microprocessor 130
may be further coupled to a proximity detector 605, such as an
ultrasonic detector located on the housing 105 of the electronic
device that emits ultrasonic signals and listens for their
reflections when the user 107 is present. By monitoring for
presence of the user 107 with a proximity detector 605, the
microprocessor 130 may dynamically adjust its sensitivity threshold
to air pressure waves such that the microprocessor may register the
air pressure waves only when the user 107 is in close proximity to
the electronic device and increase its sensitivity threshold
otherwise. For example, when the user 107 is holding the electronic
device, the proximity detector 605 may reduce the sensitivity
threshold to allow the user 107 waving his hand over the housing
105 to cause the microprocessor 130 to perform an action. This
ability may allow the housing input mechanism 600 to be implemented
as a hidden keyboard, where the illumination devices 301A and/or
301B are illuminated when the user 107 waves his hand over the
housing to cause the keys to appear.
[0067] Other embodiments, such as the housing input mechanism 700
shown in FIG. 10, may include the user 107 making contact with the
housing 105 using a stylus 705. For example, when the housing 105
is implemented in the tablet computer 23 or the PDA 25, then the
user 107 may depress the housing 105 using the stylus 705 by
writing on the tablet computer 23 or the PDA 25 by making contact
with the portions 32.
[0068] In yet another embodiment, the housing input mechanism 700
may be a mouse, so that the user 107 may move his finger across the
surface of the housing 105 in a fashion similar to devices that
operate off of the capacitance of a user's body. However, because
the housing input mechanism 700 is not based on the capacitance of
the user's body, it may be possible to have multiple portions of
the user's body (e.g., both left and right forefingers) activating
the mouse simultaneously.
[0069] In still other embodiments, the housing input mechanism 700
may be implemented as a touch pad, buttons, and/or switches located
at various points on the housing 105. For example, the user may
turn the PDA 25 (shown in FIG. 2) on by squeezing the portion 29 on
the housing.
[0070] The housing input mechanisms discussed above may offer
several advantages over conventional touch sensing technologies.
First, because some conventional touch sensing technologies utilize
electrical characteristics of the user 107 (such as the user's 107
capacitance or inductance), conventional touch sensing technologies
are often incapable of determining the difference between
inadvertent contact by the user 107 and intentional contact by the
user 107. For example, if the keyboard 28 described above in the
context of FIG. 2 were implemented with conventional touch sensing
technologies, then the notebook computer 22 may be unable to detect
a subsequent touch by the user 107, such as an intentional
keystroke, because the notebook computer 22 may already be
detecting the capacitance of the user 107 resting his hands on the
keyboard 28. By implementing the housing input mechanism 100 in
place of the keyboard 28, the user 107 would be free to rest his
hands on the keyboard 28 while typing. Furthermore, in conventional
sensing technologies, the user's 107 electrical characteristics
(e.g., capacitance or inductance) may be skewed if the user's 107
hands are not clean. That is, if the user 107 has grease, dirt, or
sweaty hands, then conventional touch sensing technologies may be
unable to accurately estimate contact from the user 107. Because
the housing input mechanism 100 is independent of the electrical
characteristics of the user 107, it may overcome at least some of
the problems associated with conventional touch technologies.
[0071] In some embodiments, the sensing through the housing 105 may
be combined with capacitive sensing based upon the capacitance of
the user's body to ensure that the physical contact with the
housing 105 was intentional. For example, referring back to the
example discussed above wherein the electronic device is a mobile
telephone inside a user's pocket, the housing 105 may be touched
unintentionally while in the user's pocket, and the electronic
device may inadvertently register this touching as user
interaction. To compensate for this possible inadvertent
interaction with the housing 105, some embodiments may utilize
conventional capacitive sensing (i.e., the capacitance of the
user's body), in conjunction with measuring the capacitance changes
that result from the user interacting with the housing 105. For
example, if the electronic device is a media player 26, then the
portion 30 may be a conventional capacitive sensor that detects
whether the user is holding the media player 26 while other
portions of the media player's 26 housing may be one or more of the
housing input mechanisms capable of detecting a user's interaction
through the housing as described above.
[0072] While some of the embodiments may have been discussed in the
context of the user 107 interacting with a portion of the housing
105 that is located substantially over the terminals 125A-B (e.g.,
FIG. 5A), it should be appreciated that the electronic device may
be capable of correctly interpreting the user's 107 interaction
that is not located substantially over the terminals 125A-B (e.g.,
FIGS. 9 and 10). For example, in some embodiments, when the user
107 interacts with the housing 105 in between the terminals 125A-B,
the microprocessor 130 may be configured to detect the capacitance
of the nearby cells to determine the terminal that the user
intended to interact with. To accomplish this, the microprocessor
130 may measure the distance d.sub.2 of each of the terminals. In
the event that the housing input mechanism 100 is implemented as
shown in FIG. 8D and the user 107 depresses the housing 105 at a
location in between terminals 0,0 and 0,1, then the microprocessor
130 may be programmed to interpret this depression as a false
positive. Similarly, if the user 107 depresses the housing 105 in
between all of the terminals 0,0, 0,1, 1,0, and 1,1, yet the
depression is closest to the 1,1 terminal, then the microprocessor
130 may sample each of the terminals 0,0, 0,1, 1,0, and 1,1 and
determine that the capacitance of the terminal at 1,1 is higher
than the rest of the terminals--i.e., its distance d.sub.2 is
smaller than the others because the depression is closest to the
1,1 terminal. Based upon this higher capacitance, the
microprocessor 130 may determine that the user 107 intended to
depress the terminal at 1,1 to the exclusion of the other
terminals.
[0073] FIG. 11 shows a flow chart illustrating operations 800 of
the housing input mechanisms of at least one of the embodiments
disclosed above. In some embodiments, the operations 800 may be
executed on the microprocessor 130. During operation 805 the
microprocessor 130 may sample a value associated with a first
terminal, such as the capacitance of the terminal 125A as the
housing 105 is depressed in the area over the terminal 125A. The
sampled capacitance value may be associated with a change in the
thickness of the housing d.sub.2 according to Equation (1). This is
shown in operation 810.
[0074] Next in operation 815, the microprocessor 130 may determine
if the change in the thickness of the housing d.sub.2 is greater
than a predetermined threshold. For example, as was discussed above
if the thickness of the housing d.sub.2 is 0.2 millimeters, the
threshold for operation 815 may be 0.1 millimeters, which may
represent a 50% change of thickness because of user
interaction.
[0075] In operation 820, the microprocessor 130 may sample a
terminal adjacent to the first terminal and begin operations to
discern which of the terminals the user 107 intended to depress.
For example, if the first terminal is terminal 125A shown in FIG.
5A, then the adjacent terminal may be 125B.
[0076] Akin to operations 810 and 815, in operations 825 and 830,
the microprocessor 130 may determine a change in the thickness of
the housing d.sub.2 for the adjacent terminal and determine whether
this change is greater than a second threshold amount. If the
change in the thickness of the housing d.sub.2 is not greater than
a second predetermined threshold, then the microprocessor 130 may
repeat operations 825 and 830 for additional adjacent terminals if
they are present per operation 835. Otherwise, if the
microprocessor 130 determines in operation 835 that no additional
adjacent terminals are available, then the microprocessor 130 may
indicate that the user 107 intended to interact with the first
terminal per operation 837. Once the microprocessor 130 has
determined that the user intended to interact with the first
terminal, then per control flowing from operation 837 back to
operation 805, the microprocessor 130 may begin to look for a new
first terminal in block 805.
[0077] Referring back to operation 830, if the change in the
thickness of the housing d.sub.2 is greater than a second
predetermined threshold, then in operation 840, the microprocessor
130 may determine if the change in the thickness of the housing
d.sub.2 for the adjacent terminal is greater than the change in
thickness of the housing d.sub.2 for the first terminal. In other
words, if the first terminal is the terminal 125A shown in FIG. 5A,
and the adjacent terminal is the terminal 125B, then during
operation 840, their respective changes in the thicknesses d.sub.2
may be compared.
[0078] In some embodiments, if the change of thickness d.sub.2 for
the adjacent terminal is greater than the change in thickness
d.sub.2 for the first terminal, then the microprocessor 130 may
indicate user interaction was intended with the adjacent terminal
rather than the first terminal. Alternatively, in the event that
the change in thickness d.sub.2 for the first terminal is greater
than the change in thickness d.sub.2 for the adjacent terminal,
then the microprocessor 130 may indicate user interaction was
intended with the first terminal rather than the adjacent terminal.
Once operations 845 and/or 850 have completed, control flows to
operation 835 where the microprocessor 130 may determine if
additional adjacent terminals are present.
[0079] Note that although operations 800 illustrate comparing
thresholds of adjacent terminals to determine which terminal the
user intended to make contact with, alternative operations are
possible. For example, the microprocessor 130 may average the
changes in thickness d.sub.2 for several adjacent terminals and
compare the first terminal's change in thickness with this average
instead of directly comparing with the change in thickness d.sub.2
for a single adjacent terminal.
* * * * *